Touching You
by Shinigami240
Summary: Sequel to "Taste" The upcoming war is delayed; the Shinigami have stopped training. Soul Society needs Kurosaki Ichigo...but he's dead right? Or maybe...Sorry for the wait Dx
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Yeah, took a long time...mutters weak excuses. NOT a one-shot but not going to go past 5 chapters. Hope you enjoy...=)

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"Orihime, please stop crying already!" Renji begged. He looked at Ishida and Rukia for support but they only shrugged helplessly. It has almost been half a year since they found Ichigo's mangled body on the streets. It was obvious who fought him and it was also obvious what happened. It seemed like Grimmjow's body turned to dust.

Chad stood off to the side by himself, not talking as usual. Renji glanced at everyone. They were either looking like Chad or they were crying. He himself had been devastated when he received the news that Ichigo had died but it was really no time to mope. Ichigo was a true friend, someone who inspired him almost as much as Byakuya…But there was a war going on here, people die…that's how it is. He was starting to get angry and impatient.

Orihime stood next to Rukia who was holding her hand. She was no longer crying but her entire body trembled. Renji sighed; he felt that all of them were too caught up in _his_ death. Even Ishida was acting weirdly; the Quincy was gnawing on his bottom lip, a habit he obtained since the funeral. Renji took a deep breath.

"Hey, we're all upset that Ichigo is dead—Orihime hiccupped at the mentioning of his name_—but _I really think we ought to be preparing for the war coming up." Renji gestured wildly, indicating that they had a lot to do.

Everyone ignored him except for Rukia who glared at him. Renji growled in frustration, they were all going to die because they'd rather sulk around all day than train.

"C'mon! He might not even be dead for all we know," Renji shifted uncomfortably when all eyes –including Chad's – turned to him. "I meant that he might turn up in Soul Society one of these days and that's not going to happen Soul Society perishes.

They all stared at him blankly.

"Gah! Don't you get it?! At this rate, Aizen's going to demolish us!" Renji cried, trying to drive some sense into the sullen group.

"Even if Kurosaki does turn up in Soul Society, we have no chance of finding him." Ishida said. "There are too many people in Rukongai. Even if we do find him there, he might be a different person, have a different personality and he might not even be able to fight. He's dead for all we know."

"You know nothing!" Renji pointed angrily at each person in turn. "He's dead, get over it. He was my friend too you know, but we're shaming him and disrespecting his death by killing ourselves."

"What the hell do you mean by 'killing ourselves'?" Rukia demanded sharply.

"Well are we doing anything useful right now? Are we hunting down arrancars like we're supposed to? We're not training or getting better than we were 5 months ago!" Renji replied furiously. "We might as well call ourselves dead!"

"Stop, stop please!" Orihime cried shrilly, covering her ears. "We mustn't fight amongst each other. Ichigo wouldn't be happy to hear you all shouting at one another. We must not fall apart, that's what Aizen wants!"

"Ms. Inoue is correct." All heads turned to the speaker.

Urahara walked up to the small group, easygoing as always but this time, he wasn't smiling. The shopkeeper looked at each of them in turn, his gaze stayed on Renji longer than the others.

"We must make sure that Aizen does not get what he wants. We all know the only person who can defeat Aizen is Kurosaki Ichigo."

"So are you telling us you have a new invention to bring Ichigo back to life?" Renji snorted.

"Of course not," Urahara replied coolly. "We shall use what we have already to fulfill our purposes."

Everyone looked confused by his words. Urahara sighed and scratch the back of his head.

"I'm sending all of you on a mission to Rukongai to find Kurosaki Ichigo." The shopkeeper said.

"I thought we already agreed that it's impossible." Ishida said. "We don't know if he's even in Rukongai."

"Kurosaki-san is not like all the other residences there. He had his hollow attached to his soul before he died." Kisuke paused, letting the information sink in.

"Wouldn't his hollow have been cleansed before going to Soul Society?" Rukia asked, not daring to hope yet.

"Well his hollow isn't the only soul that occupies his body, right?" He replied "There is also Zangetsu to think about. If I am correct, which I think I am, then his soul wasn't _completely_ cleansed."

Everyone stared at him, trying to keep up. Orihime just stood there, looking bemused and sweating.

"Rukia, you saw what happened when Kurosaki-san fought with the sexta espada the second time, correct?" Urahara continued, slightly exasperated.

"Yes." Rukia said. "I didn't know what power he was using but it felt like a hollow's. I assume that he was drawing energy from his inner hollow."

"Correct!" The shopkeeper yelled, pleased that someone was catching on.

"That means," said Ishida. "That…Kurosaki…the…espada…what does that mean?"

"It _means_ that he taking control of his own power!" Kisuke replied. "He fought and forced his hollow to submit to him. Surely all of you noticed that Ichigo had trouble fighting with his hollow acting up all the time?"

Orihime shuddered, remembering the first time the arrancars came to visit. Everyone but Renji nodded.

"What does this have to do with anything? So what if he has hollow powers? That doesn't explain anything!" He snarled. "I think we're just wasting time, hoping uselessly that he's alive."

"How can you say that about your best friend?" Rukia questioned him angrily. "He's the only person who can defeat Aizen."

"I am being realistic," Renji scowled back. "Aizen's recruiting his followers this very moment while we're just trying to bring our friend back to life. This is giving us hope, how? I don't see anyone using their time wisely."

"Why don't you, Mr. Abarai, stop talking so we can work out a plan." Urahara said with an impatient voice. "I'm not the one wasting time right now."

Renji shut his mouth but he continued to glower.

"You all might not know this but Ichigo had to fight for dominance against his hollow self. He did this so his hollow could not take over and guide his soul. The main purpose of defeating this inner hollow was so that Zangetsu could be the one to guide his soul. Zangetsu was a bigger part of Ichigo's soul than the hollow was when he died. Ultimately, I believe that the hollow was not affected when Ichigo's soul was being cleansed, seeing that it was only a small part of Zangetsu. Think of it like an orange. It's easy to get a handful pulp but you'd have to dig deeper to get the seeds, it's harder and not worth it. The cleansing will not clean his soul completely so it's hollow. That completely destroys the purpose of cleaning the soul."

Everyone stared at him.

"Nevermind then..." He sighed. "He is still partly hollow so hopefully, it won't go unnoticed.

"This helps us," Urahara said loudly, not allowing Renji to talk, "because Soul Society can sense hollows. If properly searched for, Ichigo's hollow (therefore Ichigo as well) can be found. If Soul Society _does_ _not_ have the skills to detect a hollow, then I must say this war is already won. And not won by us."

"Questions?" The former captain asked brightly.

"I thought only hollows get cleansed." Ishida said very slowly.

"Yes, but Kurosaki-san isn't completely shinigami ne? Not enough to cleanse the hollow out of his soul but enough that he has to go through the process."

"You make it sound so easy…" said Rukia.

"So you think Ichigo can still be found." Chad spoke, for the first time. It was not a question but a statement.

"Yes, I believe so." Urahara replied with his eyes hidden in the shadow of his hat. He wondered if they knew how difficult this was going to be.

"Then we must hurry to Soul Society!" Inoue piped in. The only hesitation she showed was gripping her hands tightly.

Urahara headed back to his shop, smiling. He was going to have no trouble with this group. Maybe Renji though, he's always been a little perky.

"I have everything set up for you to go to the Soul Society. Follow please! " He called over his shoulder.

The small group looked at each other before following, each wondering the same thing. _Will this work?_

**

Soul Society—Rukongai—

_Where the hell is this? _Grimmjow wondered. _Is this hell? _

He walked around the village which was surrounded by people. Everyone was looking at his hair.

"Welcome to Soul Society!" A little girl with pink hair screamed at him. She jumped down from a house and onto his shoulders.

"Yachiru, get your ass over here." A tall scarred man grumbled. "You're not supposed to step out of the Seireitei. Oi, who's that guy you're strangling?"

It was true, the little monkey-like girl was holding on to his neck a little too tightly. Grimmjow was making weird sputtering sounds as Yachiru continued to grip onto his windpipe.

"I found him! He looks like the kitty that Berry-chan fought, doesn't he Ken-chan, doesn't he?" Yachiru screeched, looking delighted with herself.

'Ken-chan' took a look at him while scratching his head. Grimmjow could only glare with the little girl still clinging onto him. His death-glare was ruined when his eyes started water from lack of oxygen.

"He must be trash," he concluded, "or else he wouldn't have died. And Kurosaki was retarted to fall for such a dumbass."

_Yeah, this is hell…_

**

Soul Society—Seireitei—

"Fukutaicho!" A fifth seat Shinigami rushed into the eighth division. He dropped down on his knees halfway, using the momentum from running to skid in front of Nanao Ise, lieutenant of the eighth division.

"What's the matter? Has Captain Kyōraku been drinking again?" Nanao demanded.

"No! Well, yes but that's not the urgent message ma'am." Said the messenger sheepishly. "There is an emergency meeting for Captains and lieutenants concerning Kurosaki Ichigo. Apparently, there is a plan involving a search for him. Everyone, including Captain Kyōraku, _must_ attended as soon as possible."

"It is understood." Nanao said, her eyebrows furrowed. She refrained from asking why they were searching for a dead person.

"Why couldn't they send hell butterflies instead?" She asked instead. She noticed how tired the messenger looked from running all over the place.

"All of them have been sent to the human world ma'am. They are used to call back all of the Captains and Vice-Captains who have gone to Karakura to protect the town. They should not be needed now because Aizen won't be attacking after the last fight anytime soon." He replied, already standing up.

"Is that all?" Nanao asked, watching how he was tensing up, ready to run to the next division. _This must be a very important meeting for Sotaicho to send out a messenger for every division. _

"Yes ma'am!" He replied back obediently. She nodded her head and dismissed him. Now she had to go and find the captain.

**

Middle of nowhere—AKA Bridge to Soul Society—

"You guys had to cross this thing twice?!" Renji and Rukia asked simutaniously as they ran in the darkness with only a bit of light ahead of them.

"Our third time_ actually_." Orihime said, sounding more cheerful than she had ever since Ichigo died.

"I want to travel with a hell butterfly." Renji whined, only to be kicked in the face by Rukia.

"OW! You nearly pushed me off the path!" He yelled.

"Stop complaining, there aren't any hell butterflies available! The path is big enough for everyone!" Rukia yelled back at his face. Renji was about to reply when he heard a loud sucking sound, like a huge vacuum. Wind blew past them like a tornado forming. Then, like a giant bowling ball, a furry object started rolling at them from a distance. It started speeding up

"What _is_—" He stopped, deciding he didn't want to know. No one needed to

"Just run faster," Ishida advised, picking up speed. "Oh yeah, if that thing coming at us even _touches_ you…Well, too bad."

"What'd you mean run faster? We're already running as fast as we can! How can we survive that?" Renji roared, picking up his pace nevertheless.

"All we need to do is run _faster_ than you. Screw the 'we'." Ishida yelled back

"Shut it you stupid looking outfit designer!" Ishida appeared not to have heard. He urged Inoue forward, gently pushing her, when she stumbled slightly over her own two feet.

"By the way, I heard you made a vow with your father huh?" Renji said, his voice much quieter now. "Something about not involving with Shinigami anymore?"

"It's none of your concern. Anyways, I'm not involving my self with Soul Reapers. I'm involving myself with the _hollow_ war, not _shinigami_ war." The Quincy sniffed.

Everyone sweated dropped but didn't question his loyalty any further. Everyone could see that he was breaking his vow to be on this mission.

"We're almost there." Chad stated, his voice almost inaudible.

Everyone looked ahead at the light in front of them. _Almost there_, they thought.

"Hold on Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue whispered to herself. "We're coming to save _you _this time."

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**A/N: **Yeah, I know you all hate the notes :P but I just wanted to apologize again for the delay. Please forgive me if there are any mistakes. I was proofreading this myself. 3


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Gah, short chapter...D=

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"Wait." Renji panted a second later. He pointed to a speck of light in front of them. "Is that the exit?" He roared over the small windstorm behind them.

"How should I know, dumbass?" Rukia shot back, but she looked slightly relieved. She didn't like traveling while being confined by walls. "I never traveled this way before."

"I wasn't asking you!" Renji snorted and turned to Ishida instead. "Hey, is that the exit? There's definitely something over there."

The Quincy ignored him, apparently still offended by being called a 'stupid designer'.

"Um…" Inoue spoke, looking a bit scared. "Is it just me or is the sweeper behind us gaining speed?" She didn't want to get in the middle of their argument but she was quite astonished by how big the furry ball behind them had gotten. She actually thought they had a head start. She stopped talking as a racing fantasy suddenly formed in her head. Lost in her own world, she slowed down, despite her own warning.

"Yeah, I see what you mean. I don't think it's just you, the cleaner is definitely gaining speed. We'd better hurry before that thing gets too close." Said Chad, worried about Uyru's cape again. He remembered what happened last time the Quincy had brought his cape. Chad outstretched his arm, gently holding on to said cape.

"Chad! What are you doing?" The Ishida yelled, looking back, accidentally running into Inoue. He grabbed onto her shoulder to prevent himself from falling, too dizzy to even apologize.

"Eek!" The poor girl was startled from her dreamland. She jumped like she was shot and promptly ducked at something no one else could see. Grabbing onto Rukia's sweater, she zoomed forward, mercilessly dragging Rukia, Uyru and Chad with her.

"Come on Rukia!" She squeaked, not even noticing the extra weight or the hand on her shoulder. She continued to run forward like a maniac with no notice of her surroundings. "We have to outrun _them_!" What 'them' meant, no had a clue. Later though, they were thankful that Orihime had such an extensive imagination. Her marathon-winning run had saved their lives. Currently though, they were too busy running to realize that the busty girl was actually saving their lives.

A flustered looking Rukia was pushed up front as all of them ran. In their haste, everyone seemed to have forgotten Renji who was very upset.

"Wait! Wait for me!" Renji cried as he struggled to keep up with everyone. He ran extra fast just to catch up with Chad who seemed shocked that he was being pulled along too. Renji, who was still trying to run faster, was still a few feet behind everyone else. He suddenly gave up and jumped onto Chad's shoulders instead. Strangely, Inoue continued to run at a neck breaking pace.

So on they ran, or Orihime ran, towards the exit. It was odd because even though it was a human train, it was completely messed up. Ishida was clinging onto Inoue's shoulders. Rukia was being dragged and pushed continuously by the front of her sweater and Chad followed, still holding onto the Quincy's cape. Renji, of course, was still on Chad's shoulder, looking like a petrified monkey.

With a deafening roar, the crazy group jumped out into the open space hurriedly. This time, Orihime didn't activate her shield so all of them landed in a heap. It was very painful, especially for some of them who landed in awkward poses. Rukia sprawled was on top of Chad, Orihime landed on Uryu, and Chad on Renji, who was suffocating.

"Can't…_breathe_…!" He wheezed out. He sighed in relief when the combined weight of both Chad and Orihime was lifted off of him.

"I thought the sweeper only came every seven years or so…" Uryu said, remembering Yoruichi's words. _We nearly died..._

"Yeah, it _did,_" Renji said, standing up and ridding himself of dust. "But since you guys broke into Soul Society so easily, the council decided to change it a bit. As you've noticed, the Kototsu appears every few hours or so. Sotaicho decided to be safe, especially with the war going on, and—! Hey, are you listening to me?"

No one was. Orihime was chatting with Rukia. Chad was looking in the opposite direction and Uyru was dusting his cape vigorously.

"Thank god we got away! There were so many of them, it was like a parade of them chasing us!" Inoue would squeal and Rukia would nod dumbly, not knowing what the other girl was talking about.

"Here come the residents of Rukongai." Ishida interrupted their conversation. "They don't look very happy do they?" He stated. And it was true, everyone looked far from happy as they stepped out of their houses.

"Assistant Captain Abarai. Kuchiki, Rukia," they all respectfully murmured. One of the kids turned to face Rukia. His face was slightly defiant and he looked Rukia straight in the eye.

"Ni-sama, why are there Soul Reapers searching our homes?" The boy asked. "They're searching our homes and everything. We are having trouble selling our livestock to earn money. His 'parents' told him to hush but they were looking at Rukia for a response.

"I-I'm not sure," stammered Rukia. _Could it be that _everyone_ is looking for Ichigo? Is he found already? No. They wouldn't still be searching if they have found him. Why are they looking in peoples' homes? It's not like anyone would hide him, right? _Rukia cleared her head and shrugged her shoulders. She looked at Renji helplessly as if to ask him the same question but Renji looked just as confused as she did.

"We think they are trying to find Kurosaki, Ichigo. Have you seen him?" he asked them all, wondering if they even knew who Ichigo was. They did.

"He healed Jidanbou's arm!" The crowd chatted animatedly. "He stood up for him against a captain!" "The captain of Third Company!" "His hair made him look like a carrot!" "No! He looks like one of those weird gangsters!"

"A punk with the orange hair?" Everyone looked at the old man who spoke. "I remember him." He continued, "it seems like yesterday that he passed this part of Rukongai. I'm not really familiar with him." He glanced down at his grandson who was nudging him.

"It was yesterday," he squeaked, and everyone who heard him sweat-dropped.

"Why didn't you report him to the others?" Rukia questioned. She looked like she was seriously doubting the elder's word. Maybe it was because the elder, who had spoken just a few seconds ago, had fallen asleep still standing up. His snores filled the air.

"I didn't know who the bald headed man was looking for ma'am. And I didn't talk because that other man was looking at us very rudely. He was very superior looking but he wasn't _that_ good looking. He reminded me of a peacock…" He said in a tiny voice.

"If you just told them you saw someone strange, we'd be saved already!" Renji snapped. "We could've restarted training and prepared for the the war! Everyone in the _entire_ place is taking the time to look for him, you think it's a joke?"

"Stop it!" Orihime turned and patted the little boy's head. He looked close to crying. "It's okay," she said gently "we'll find him even if it takes us a year."

Renji threw his head back. "We don't have a year!" He spoke sternly but didn't raise his voice.

"This is impossible," groaned Ishida, slapping his hands over his face. "If the other Shinigami haven't found him yet, I doubt we will. Maybe we should start training for the war."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you guys!"

"He could be anywhere…" Rukia muttered, mostly to herself. She shuddered when she recalled how big just Inuzuri was for her. "We'll never find him in time." She sagged with defeat.

Just then, an orange-head man came out of nowhere and fell in front of her feet.

...

"The sky is falling!" A little girl shrieked.

**

—West Section of Rukongai—

"Where are you taking me?" Grimmjow growled for the tenth time. The pink haired bitch was on the top of his head. Literally.

"Why are you following me in the first place?" Kenpachi shot back, looking at the other man with scorn. He truly regretted that the only person strong enough to beat him while in shikai was dead. If only he had pursued Ichigo just a bit more. Get in a few more fights before he died…

"Do you know where Ichigo is? Are you trying to find him?" Grimmjow asked almost hopefully. Although he's been thinking about this since he had woken, he didn't mention it until now. Besides, the Soul Reapers were too busy to answer him anyways. Part of him was hoping the answer was 'no'. The other part was screaming for 'yes'."

"He died didn't he?" The Eleventh Captain said without looking back. "You killed him. Whatta waste of prey." He muttered as an afterthought.

Grimmjow winced and then cursed himself for asking such a question. It showed weakness and it was shameful. He had vowed not to get involved with the orange-headed shinigami ever again. _This land is a load of shit. _He repeated to himself again. He's been repeating this maxim to himself for a while now, trying to convince himself, Ichigo or not, Soul Society was a rip-off. _Where is the fun, the dueling?_ _Shinigami are such sad creatures. Sad and weak!_ Unfortunately, he was reminded that Zaraki thought of him the same way. _If only I had my sword. I don't even know where it is. _He spat on the ground.

"Go faster blueberry!" The child above him urged, taking pleasure in riding on his head. This only made Grimmjow angrier.

_I am not weak!_ He seethed. _Never again will I be involved in a relationship with weaklings. _It was unfortunate that Yachiru lost her temper at this very moment and decided to sock him in the face.

**

"Sorry!" Ichigo clambered to his feet before bowing low to Rukia. He bowed to every single person around him before stepping back to look at them. He paused for a second when he glanced at the shocked group. They were gawking at him like a child gawks at a clown.

"I-I'll make it up to you!" He stammered nervously, as though nervous of recrimination. He looked even more unnerved when the silence was stretched.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime didn't sense anything wrong with him. She bounced forward and hugged him. The way he reacted was something no one predicted.

"Don't!" Ichigo yelled, he pushed her away but overbalanced, falling backwards. He scrambled away from her and backed up a few steps. "Please don't _touch_ me!"

Everyone stared at him, shocked at the intensity of his response. Inoue stepped back, trembling slightly. Ichigo looked drained from the physical contact. His face was very pale. Pain distorted his features just at the slightest touch.

"What's wrong Ichigo?" Renji and Rukia asked at the same time when Ishida said "What the hell is wrong with you, Ichigo?"

"Ichigo…" The former Shinigami repeated. He turned slowly to face them.

"Who are you? And how do you all know my name?"

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**A/N: **Kinda short but don't worry, I having everything planned out. I don't have a beta for this story so I've been reviewing my work by myself. *Gasp* Ichigo doesn't know who they are?! What is the meaning of this!? :P Please forgive me if I made any mistakes! Did I do okay?


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